Waldron delivers Holmes Lectures at Harvard Law School

University Professor Jeremy Waldron delivered the three-part Holmes Lecture series, the most prestigious talks at Harvard Law School, on October 5 through 7. Named for Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., the lecture series occurs every three years.

Taking as his theme “Dignity and Defamation: The Visibility of Hate,” Waldron titled the individual lectures “Why Call Hate Speech Group Libel?,” “What Does a Well-Ordered Society Look Like?,” and “Libel and Legitimacy.” First examining hate-speech laws around the world and the meaning of group libel, Waldron then turned to the question of whether such laws contribute to a well-ordered society, and, finally, to the effects of those speech restrictions on other laws.